THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, November 1, 1994 TAG: 9411010283
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A7 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Real Politik
SOURCE: BY KERRY DOUGHERTY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NEWPORT NEWS LENGTH: Medium: 80 lines
Chuck, how could you?
First this rich Greek guy decides to single-handedly revive the American shipbuilding industry and then you call him by the wrong name.
It would have been understandable to mess up his last name, Hadjieleftheriadis. But you missed his first name.
It's Gregory, Chuck. Not George.
Even Marshall Coleman's campaign chairman got that right.
John Warner, in his opening remarks at the signing ceremony between Newport News Shipbuilding and the Eletson Corp. of Greece, made a joke about his inability to pronounce the Greek surname.
``Gregory, it's nice to see you again,'' Warner said, smiling at the Greek dignitary. ``We came to visit and for obvious reasons we got on a first-name basis very quickly. And we shall remain on that basis.''
The crowd laughed. Gregory Hadjieleftheriadis laughed. A warm, fuzzy moment at the shipyard.
Then it was Chuck's turn.
``George,'' he began, looking at Gregory. ``I'm going to use the same familiarity, as we haven't developed a long first-name basis. I tried three times in my mind to handle your last name and I must confess to you . . . I have a number of Greek friends. . . I could not and I did not want to do it an injustice and so I hope you will understand.''
Luckily, the Eletson Corp. signed the $152 million contract anyway.
Then again, maybe we're just being testy here at Realpolitik.
It happens every time we're summoned to a news conference and the candidate doesn't show.
Monday morning the press dutifully arrived at Newport News Williamsburg International Airport for a news conference with Chuck Robb and U.S. Transportation Secretary Federico Pena.
About 20 Robb supporters were milling about the airport lobby - resplendent in Robb buttons and stickers - and a Robb aide in a pink suit, who was keeping the press abreast of developments.
The senator was fogged in in Washington, she announced. The news conference might be canceled.
Wait a minute, she said, after talking on a cellular phone His plane was about to take off. Robb would arrive in one hour.
One Robb supporter walked up to a gaggle of reporters and demanded to know their affiliations.
Joe Taylor of The Associated Press obliged her.
``The Virginian-Pilot, the Washington Post, The Richmond Times-Dispatch,'' he said, nodding at each scribe.
``Good morning to you, good morning to you,'' she said shaking hands with the Post and Pilot reporters.
``I have nothing to say to you.'' That directed to the Times-Dispatch reporter. His newspaper's editorial page had endorsed Ollie North a day earlier.
``Hey, he had nothing to do with it,'' the Post reporter called out to the Robb supporters as she turned and stalked away.
Just passing time on the always exciting campaign trail.
Finally, we received word that the senator's plane had landed in Newport News. Members of the media and the Robb supporters were hustled into a small room decked out in Robb signs.
Pens poised, tape recorders loaded, cameras focused on the lectern, we waited for Robb.
And waited.
Until word came that Robb and Pena had gone straight to the shipyard, leaving the members of the press to jump into their jalopies and form an insane caravan of speeders and scofflaws heading to the executive offices of Newport News Shipbuilding, where Robb was about to thank George for entering into a historic deal with the American shipbuilding industry. MEMO: Occasional dispatches on the offbeat side of Virginia's 1994 U.S. Senate
race.
KEYWORDS: CANDIDATE U.S. SENATE RACE
by CNB